I'd have to agree with TaeBo Master, repitition is great. Don't know what he means by tension punching though.

Summer is coming up, so if you have access to a pool you can always try punching underwater. Of course another is way is to lie on your back and practicing punching that way so you'll have more gravity going against you. Also, if you are going to use wrist weights, this is the only way, if you use wrist weights while standing up, you'll punch faster, but at the same time you'll teach your body to punch in an upward angle.

"But some apes they gotta go, so we kill the ones we don't know" - 'Ape shall never kill Ape' by The Vandals

By tension punching... I mean you do slow reps, flexing every muscles in your arm, chest and back that is involved in your punch. Of course you wouldn't want to actually punch and opponent tight like this, but punching in this manner helps to ingrain the proper technqiue into your muscle memory faster, as well as strengthening those muscles. Ironically, it also helps to teach you to keep loose..... how, I don't know.

I use to do that in Kempo. I believe that's what of the reason I have shoulder problems. Also, I've learned that only Japanese styles do that, the chinese don't because they believe it will make you go crazy, I've trained with a few guys who use to do it all the time, and I'd say the chinese are onto something.

"But some apes they gotta go, so we kill the ones we don't know" - 'Ape shall never kill Ape' by The Vandals

"What are some good ways, drills or techniques to increase hand speed for punches?"
There is a set-up you strap on that improves your hand speed. It consists of an attachement to your waist/ body with two elastic stretchable ropes on either side with a handle. You move your arms forward and the elastics give you resistance...

.. if your bicep flexes first and prominantly then you are resisting your own punch because you are used to kata and shadow-boxing at full speed. Punching in a kata should be done somewhat slowly with more focus on form than speed. Shadow-boxing should be somewhat slow as well. The focus there is choreography (building good combonations) and strategy. It isn't really meant for speed training. Throwing a punch at full-speed into the air at the same speed and follow-through you would in a fight can in fact injure your arm. Worse than that ~ it can teach you to pull your punches. Practice on bags or at least on stationary targets when you are going full-speed.

Now, when I say stationary targets, I mean pads. Punching walls is ok for other reasons but it can also teach you to pull your punches. You hit fast but you stall on the follow-through. I still throw full-speed punches in the air once in a while but not too often. It is counter-productive. It can teach you how to pull the punch when you miss. But it can build the bad habit of pulling your punches when you hit a target too. If you do this then you will never punch as fast as you can. Your bicep learns to act as a shock to slow the punch down as it reaches the end so you won't extend your arm too much and throw your arm out. This reflex action is hard to get rid of, you have to just start using targets. I'd get a punching bag. This may not be your problem at all. It's just a guess.

&amp;gt;&amp;gt; Perhaps it was because I had an inherent skill for the science and never deviated from natural principles. - Miyamoto Musashi 1643